1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a controller for an automatic vending machine and more particularly to a controller for an automatic vending machine, the specification of which is easily changed to meet the conditions of various countries.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automatic vending machines have been widely used in various countries. In designing an automatic vending machine for use in a plurality of countries, specifications are required to vary from country to country because the currencies and denominations are different in each country.
For example, the material and shape of coins vary in each country, so that the threshold levels for selecting the coins in an automatic vending machine vary. In addition, the number of kinds of coins to be inserted in the automatic vending machine varies from country to country. Therefore, the manner to distribute the inserted coins to the appropriate coin tubes in the vending machine differs from country to country.
Conventionally, automatic vending machines have been designed and manufactured with a fixed specification for each country. However, with such machines, if there are a large number of countries where the vending machines are to be used, design and manufacturing of the vending machines must be changed for each country, thus manufacturing efficiency is low.
In addition, if the design of the current coins is changed, the conventional vending machines cannot easily adjust to the change.